OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate hypertension with simple anthropometry data related to obesity in Korean adults and identify whether age specific waist circumference (WC) may be a useful screening tool for determining hypertension. METHODS: Subjects (n = 571) were classified into 3 groups by age; young (18–39 years), middle aged (40–64 years), and old aged (≥ 65 years). Correlations between demographic and anthropometric parameters and hypertension were performed using Spearman correlation analysis. Logistic regression analysis and ROC (receiver operating characteristics) curves were also analyzed for correlations with hypertension. RESULTS: Spearman correlation analyses, age, gender, WC, and body mass index were positively correlated with hypertension. When logistic regression analysis was performed, increased age and increased WC was associated with a higher incidence of hypertension, although gender and body mass index were not significantly related to hypertension. In ROC analysis of WC for hypertension demonstrated that patients in the old age group showed higher WC cutoff value than patients in the young and middle aged groups. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrate that WC may be a useful predictor of hypertension incidence among demographic and anthropometric factors in Korean adults. In addition, WC in the young population was more sensitive to the incidence of hypertension than in the elderly population.
Adult ; Aged ; Anthropometry ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index* ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Incidence ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; ROC Curve ; Waist Circumference

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance is recommended when the annual incidence of HCC exceeds 1.5%. In 2018, several international guidelines included alternative surveillance modalities, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as alternatives for patients with inadequate surveillance with an ultrasound. Currently, abbreviated MRI selectively includes several key sequences and is emerging as an effective tool for HCC surveillance with reduced cost and scan time and the required diagnostic performance. The incidence of HCC substantially impacts the benefits of surveillance in terms of cost-effectiveness. Therefore, we need to individualize imaging surveillance of HCC, tailor screening, and determine risk-stratified strategies. The purpose of this article was to present a brief overview of the diagnostic performance and cost-effectiveness of liver MRI as an HCC surveillance tool.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the diameter and volume of liver metastases on CT images in relation to overall survival and tumor response in patients with gastric cancer liver metastases (GCLM) treated with chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: We recruited 43 patients with GCLM who underwent chemotherapy as a first-line treatment. We performed a three-dimensional quantification of the metastases for each patient. An independent survival analysis using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) was performed and compared to volumetric measurements. Overall survival was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared using Cox proportional hazard ratios following univariate analyses. Results: When patients were classified as responders or non-responders based on volumetric criteria, the median overall survival was 23.6 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 8.63–38.57] and 7.6 months (95% CI, 3.78–11.42), respectively (p = 0.039). The volumetric analysis and RECIST of the non-progressing and progressing groups showed similar results based on the Kaplan-Meier method (p = 0.006) and the Cox proportional hazard model (p = 0.008). Conclusion Volumetric assessment of liver metastases could be an alternative predictor of overall survival for patients with GCLM treated with chemotherapy.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the diameter and volume of liver metastases on CT images in relation to overall survival and tumor response in patients with gastric cancer liver metastases (GCLM) treated with chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: We recruited 43 patients with GCLM who underwent chemotherapy as a first-line treatment. We performed a three-dimensional quantification of the metastases for each patient. An independent survival analysis using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) was performed and compared to volumetric measurements. Overall survival was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared using Cox proportional hazard ratios following univariate analyses. Results: When patients were classified as responders or non-responders based on volumetric criteria, the median overall survival was 23.6 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 8.63–38.57] and 7.6 months (95% CI, 3.78–11.42), respectively (p = 0.039). The volumetric analysis and RECIST of the non-progressing and progressing groups showed similar results based on the Kaplan-Meier method (p = 0.006) and the Cox proportional hazard model (p = 0.008). Conclusion Volumetric assessment of liver metastases could be an alternative predictor of overall survival for patients with GCLM treated with chemotherapy.

Metastatic tumors to the heart are far more frequent than primary tumors of the heart. Cardiac metastasis may be detected up to 30 percent of patients with fatal lung cancers. Metastatic cancer to the heart is difficult to suspect. Where cardiac metastasis is diagnosed ante-mortem, signs and symptoms of the primary cancer are usually the presenting features and the presence of cardiac involvement is often incidentally detected. We experienced a case of 35-year-old woman with metastatic lung cancer invading the left atrium via pulmonary vein, which was not proved pathologically. She presented with hemoptysis and chest pain. Transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated massive cardiac infiltration with tumor and decreased cardiac wall motion, correlating with the chest CT findings, which were also remarkable for the presence of intracardiac mass and direct invasion to adherent pericardium, pulmonary vein and left atrium. We suggest that careful examination of 2D echocardiography can be noninvasive and valuable tool for diagnosis of metastatic cancer to the heart.
Adult ; Carcinoma, Large Cell* ; Chest Pain ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Heart ; Heart Atria* ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung* ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Pericardium ; Pulmonary Veins ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Ongoing advances in the treatment of very-low-birth-weight infants have confronted us with a growing number of infants susceptible to acquired illnesses of the gastrointestinal tract. Although necrotizing enterocolitis has been regarded as the major cause of gastrointestinal perforation in preterm infants, the incidence of spontaneous perforation occurred in an apparently normal bowel is increasing. The risk factors for spontaneous intestinal perforation include prematurity, twin pregnancies, perinatal asphyxia, prior use of umbilical artery catheter, use of indomethacin and/or steroid, and bacterial or fungal sepsis. We report a case of spontaneous ileal perforation occurred in very low birth weight infant who was successfully treated with emergency operation.
Asphyxia ; Catheters ; Emergencies ; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Incidence ; Indomethacin ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight* ; Intestinal Perforation ; Pregnancy, Twin ; Risk Factors ; Sepsis ; Umbilical Arteries

No abstract available.
Hand* ; Radiography*

No abstract available.
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; Thrombosis

Genetically engineered mouse models through gene deletion are useful tools for analyzing gene function. To delete a gene in a certain tissue temporally, tissue-specific and tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgenic mice are generally used. Here, we generated transgenic mouse with cardiac-specific expression of Cre recombinase fused to a mutant estrogen ligand-binding domain (ERT2) on both N-terminal and C-terminal under the regulatory region of human vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor 2 (VIPR2) intron and Hsp68 promoter (VIPR2-ERT2CreERT2). In VIPR2-ERT2CreERT2 transgenic mice, mRNA for Cre gene was highly expressed in the heart. To further reveal heart-specific Cre expression, VIPR2-ERT2CreERT2 mice mated with ROSA26-lacZ reporter mice were examined by X-gal staining. Results of X-gal staining revealed that Cre-dependent recombination occurred only in the heart after treatment with tamoxifen. Taken together, these results demonstrate that VIPR2-ERT2CreERT2 transgenic mouse is a useful model to unveil a specific gene function in the heart.